AI for Social Networks; Social Networks for AI

CALL FOR PAPERS

FLAIRS-05, Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA
May 16-18, 2005
Special track on
“AI for Social Networks, Social Networks in AI”

You will find at http://www-poleia.lip6.fr/~brezil/FLAIRS-05 the presentation of the special track entitled “AI for Social Networks, Social Networks in AI” at the conference of the Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society.

The goal of the Special Track on “AI for Social Networks, Social Networks in AI” is to attempt to fill a gap between AI and Social Networks. We are seeking submissions of papers that describe original results addressing issues such as (but not limited to) the following:

* Where can AI tools bring a new dimension in social networks?
* What needs can we identify in social networks that resonate with AI?
* What AI tools exist for which problems in social networks?
* How studies on social networks can enlighten AI problems?
* Is it an interest for AI-mediated social networks?
* Are there some social-network oriented AI approaches?

Please note that the deadline for submission is October 22, 2004.

phd weblogs

I just revisited phd weblogs which is a collection of PhD students blogging. There are only 170 of us on there and i know that there are a whole lot more. So, if you’re an academic blogger and you’re reading this, add yourself there. And tell your friends. It’s really fun to surf and find out what other folks are researching.

Oh, and it’s a great way of procrastinating when you’ve read PhD comics so many time that you have half of them memorized.

Jimmy Carter at Google

Eric Schmidt and Jimmy Carter

Originally uploaded by jasonshellen.

Former President Jimmy Carter spoke at Google today. He came to speak about The Carter Center, a non-governmental agency that does amazing work around the world to help the poor and suffering.

He spoke about human rights: the human right to be free, the human right to live in a good environment, the human right to be healthy, the human right to be alleviated from unnecessary suffering, the human right to live in peace. Human rights were the cornerstone of his presidency and he proudly boasted that during his four years, he focused on promoting peace – no guns were fired, no bombs were launched, no missiles were dropped. We saw a film of the great things that the Carter Center has done and he spoke of his work at Habitat for Humanity.

He answered questions from the audience. My favorite was when a Googler asked how he dealt with problematic or hostile governments – he responded with “their governments or ours? … it’s a lot easier to deal with their governments.” ROFL.

(For Joe.) One Googler asked him how to assure a democratic election this year. He spoke of how in Venezuela, they use digital election ballots but everyone got a paper ballot printed out that they then submitted in a paper system. Thus, people were assured that their vote was identical to the digital system and there was a backup to be counted in case of trouble. ::sigh:: It’s going to be an interesting election.

He spoke about how essential understanding other people were and encouraged Googlers to get involved in the poorer regions of their communities, to understand the people that provided services to them.

All and all, it was a bit odd. I got to shake his hand, i got to listen to amazing Democrat rhetoric with well constructed progressive framing. And yet, we all knew that he was there because Google(rs) have just made a lot of money and the Carter Center wants Google(rs) to donate.

Digital Street Game

The baby of Michele Chang and Elizabeth Goodman, formally known as fiasco has finally been fully born. Please welcome Digital Street Game into this world!

Digital Street Game is a hybrid game of misadventure set on the streets of New York. It’s a battle for turf, a contest of wills – in short – an excuse to explore the city.

Players compete for turf by performing and documenting “stunts” on the physical streets of New York in order to claim territory on a virtual map. Stunts are comprised of a random combination of 3 elements: 1) an object commonly found in the city (e.g. bodega) 2) a street game (e.g. stickball) and 3) a wildcard/urban situation (e.g. happy hour). Players interpret these elements as they wish, then stage and photograph their stunt in order to claim a spot on the map. The more stunts players perform the more turf they claim. But of course some players may want to compete for the same territory. In order to hold on to territory, players’ stunts must score high with the rest of the game community.

Don’t Think of an Elephant: Blogging Lakoff’s class

First, Lakoff’s new book Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate–The Essential Guide for Progressives was just released today on Amazon. It’s co-authored with Howard Dean and Don Hazen.

Second, since so many people have been curious about Lakoff’s class, i decided to create a blog that would document the class. I’ve added the class notes that Mary and i have written as well as the additional documents that we’ve read for the class. This should be a great way for folks to follow along in the class, or at least partially.

be a poll worker

The 2000 Presidential election woke many people up to the inequalities of elections – will your vote be counted? This year, there are thousands of lawyers on both sides ready to donate their time to making certain that everyone’s right to vote is protected (just as there were thousands of lawyers in NYC during the RNC). The freedom to vote and the freedom of speech and the right to protest should not be abridged.

I expect everyone to vote. But i would also strongly encourage you to get involved in the politics of the election. Register to be a poll worker (SF click here). Polls usually have a hard time getting people to staff them and this is where some of the worst limits on the right to vote happen. The average poll worker is 72; they are usually not technologically savvy (even though most poll machines are now electronic).

Even if you aren’t working, go to the polls and observe the practices that are occurring; report anything fishy (1-866-OUR-VOTE). And of course, if you can, consider traveling to places where voting is more likely to be abridged.

milgram’s subway experiment

The NYTimes has a revisiting of Milgram’s subway experiment. This is a classic experiment where grad students were told to go onto NY subways and ask passengers to give up their seats. A surprising number of them agreed to do so, but what was shocking was just how traumatic it was on the students to even ask this question, to break the social contract.

e-admit

For those of you who were addicted to Group Hug, you’ve gotta check out e-admit. Users submit some sort of admission, often with a poll following it. Readers can then vote on their admissions.

[Sorry Scott for a new addiction.]

diarying bad for your health?

“Keeping a diary is bad for your health, say UK psychologists. They found that regular diarists were more likely than non-diarists to suffer from headaches, sleeplessness, digestive problems and social awkwardness.
…
“Although she does not have proof, Duncan speculates that diarists buck the usual trend because instead of a single, cathartic outpouring to offload trauma, diarists continually churn over their misfortunes and so never get over them. ‘It’s probably better not to get caught in a ruminative, repetitive cycle,’ she says.” — Dear diary, you make me sick in NewScientist

I wonder if blogging/online journaling differs from diarying in this fashion, given that writers have an audience. Do they still get caught in the cycle?

danah boyd | apophenia

making connections where none previously existed